Laughner's Journey to Ethiopia

This year's Ethiopia video. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18XA-4GPVRU

Pictures from the 2014 trip to Kombolcha, Ethiopia

Our trip home deserves a post of it's own... So, health wise, we'd had a fairly uneventful trip. Both Michael and Allison were really tired, which caused some problems with headaches and minor stomach issues. Otherwise, medically, we did pretty well. I was relieved when we got on the airplane that we'd made it unscathed. However, thirty minutes into the first leg of the flight from Addis to Rome, Allison laid her head down on the tray table to go to sleep. I got up to go to the bathroom and when I came back Michael told me that Allison had gotten hurt, and sure enough she was sobbing. The woman in front of her had reclined her seat very quickly and in the process, Allison's head got pinched between the tray table and the seat. Allison hurt her neck when she tried to get unstuck. Allison was in a lot of pain. Every time she moved her head, she was in agony. I gave her 400mg of ibuprofen and ice. Jen, the nurse that was with us, took a look at her. The main flight ...

It's hard to believe that it's Friday already. Last week, leading up to our departure from the U.S., seemed to take forever. Today we have the feast, goody giveaways, and good-byes to say. It will be a long day. The Bible story today is about serving others. Rob tells the story of how Jesus washed feet. Today, we will wash the kids' feet. Eight of us took turns washing feet. About thirty of the kids chose not to have their feet washed, mostly the older kids. We had gloves for these dirty feet, but several of the group chose not to wear them. I started out wearing them, and made Michael and Allison wear them. To be sure, the kids' feet were filthy. Even after taking my time to clean them, there was still dirt on the rags when I dried them. Eventually, though, I shed the gloves. To me, it contradicted the message of servitude by having these blue gloves on while showing these kids that we were serving them. They were a barrier between my hands and their feet. ...

Overall, today was a fun day, but also sombering in a way that probably foreshadows the day that is to come tomorrow. Our rec activity today was in two parts. Michael and Glen had been saving large water bottles all week (We go through a lot of water here. It is really dry.) They put rocks in the bottom of the bottles and set them up as bowling pins. The kids kicked balls into the pins to knock down as many as possible The kids loved  this activity. There were water bottles flying everywhere! John, Michael, and Glen had quite the time picking up and setting up pins. One of the best at it was a girl who was wearing a long skirt and shoes with heels. Patty, Aaron, and I played hot potato. We had two circles, each with a yellow bean bag. The kids would pass the ball until I yelled "Abook!" (Stop in Amharic.) Aaron had the great idea to involve the kids in yelling Abook. The kid holding the bean bag was out. As kids were eliminated, they joined us in calling Abook. We would ...